


though she be little, she be firece

by SophieRomanoff97



Series: The Lives of Little Natasha and her Family [22]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: ABDL, Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Awesome Bruce Banner, Awesome Bucky Barnes, Awesome Clint Barton, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Awesome Steve Rogers, Awesome Tony Stark, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Caretaking, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Clint Barton Feels, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Domestic Avengers, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, Exhaustion, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Hurt Natasha Romanov, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Injury Recovery, Love, M/M, Minor Injuries, Multi, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Polyamory, Post-Mission, Protective Avengers, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Team Bonding, Team as Family, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 19:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20314621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRomanoff97/pseuds/SophieRomanoff97
Summary: When a post-mission crash hits Natasha hard, it's down to her family to take care of her, a job they will never grow tired of doing.Includes consensual, non sexual age regression, not age play. If you don't like it, don't read it, no nastiness will be tolerated.





	1. The crash approaches

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. I know I've already got fics on the go but sometimes you gotta write what you gotta write. This is based on the struggles I'm going through with my chronic illness and I swear, these fics are like therapy so I hope you like it and can bear with me as I work on the other fics. I just like to imagine that I have people taking care of me too and my way of doing that is through Natasha. I hope I can find others who relate. Your love and support is so welcomed.
> 
> Malyshka - baby  
Myshka - little mouse
> 
> (I'm not sure about the title but I'm working on it haha)

"Alright, doll, let's get you laying down." Bucky murmured, arm firmly wrapped around Natasha's waist as he helped her over to the nearest couch.

The woman groaned softly as Bucky gently set her down, lifting her legs up onto the couch.

Exhaling shakily, Natasha dropped her head against the nearest pillow, teeth gritted as she shifted to get comfortable.

"Thanks, James.'' She murmured, tiredly rubbing a hand over her eyes.

Bucky crouched beside her, brushing his fingers over her temple. "Clint's just gone to get you some meds. After you take them, you can get some sleep."

Natasha offered a weak smile, catching his hand in her's. "Thank you for picking me up." She said softly.

"You don't need to thank me for that, Talia." Bucky shook his head, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. "How are you feeling?"

The redhead shrugged a shoulder and winced, immediately regretting the action. "I hurt."

Natasha had been sent on multiple missions in a row, something the family rarely did nowadays but occasionally, it was still necessary.

They'd not seen her for two weeks and hadn't been sure on when she was coming home until Clint had gotten a call from Maria.

Their firebird was banged up, had a few broken ribs, multiple stitches and a bandaged up gun shot wound in her shoulder. But more than those injuries, she was exhausted.

Natasha called it the crash and it was an apt enough term. Once all the fighting was over, once she was home and safe, it really started to set in. It was as if her body had had enough all at once.

She got so exhausted that she could barely strong sentences together, that any pain she felt was amplified. She could barely walk or move or lift her limbs, would lose her thoughts and slur her words. It also heightened her emotions, making her quick to anger or upset. That was why they were on the couch and not in her room, she wanted to be around people, even if she was asleep for most of it.

She'd managed to shower at Shield and change into some clean clothes, so Bucky saw no reason he should get her to her room when that wasn't what she wanted.

The crash was coming though, he could tell by the pinched brows and pale face, so it was best they got some meds and some kind of food into her before that happened.

Right on cue, Clint came in from the kitchen, carrying a few things in his arms.

He crouched too, eyes pained as he gently brushed a still damp strand of hair from her face. "Hey, beautiful. Let's get you these meds." He handed her a little plastic cup with a few different tablets in it, helping her wrap weak fingers around it.

As she shook the meds into her mouth, Clint expertly lifted a glass of juice to her lips, which she dutifully drank all of.

"That's my girl." Bucky hummed, squeezing her hand. "Just a little protein drink and then you can sleep."

Grumbling but knowing it was for the best, Natasha took the offered bottle of vanilla protein, taking sips of it, very cautious of not wanting to get sick because another fun part of the crash was nausea.

As she drank, Clint carefully sorted out the pillows under her head and Bucky wrapped her up in the softest blanket they owned.

As soon as Natasha had finished drinking, her eyes were already starting to slip shut.

Clint took the bottle and rubbed a finger from the top of her forehead to the bridge of her nose. "Sleep, Nat, we've got you."

Natasha very happily did just that.

...

When Natasha woke, after almost a day of sleeping, she was dropped.

They'd all been expecting it, it had been a long two weeks, so they were well prepared when Natasha opened her eyes.

She rubbed at her face, blearily blinking to try and focus her gaze.

"Hi, love." Steve said softly, reaching from where he sat, Nat's legs across his lap, to squeeze her knee. "Take as long as you need, you're okay. Just at home."

Natasha sniffled and winced, letting out a shaky little exhale, her face scrunched up.

"It hurts, huh baby? Why don't we get you some medicine and you can try and get some more sleep?'' The blonde suggested, casting his gaze over to the other couches.

"On it." Bruce hopped up from his seat, followed by Tony, who clung to his hand and whispered, "sissy okay?" As they headed to the kitchen.

Natasha still hadn't said anything so it was a little hard to figure out what age she was sitting at.

"Clint's bought all your favorite things out here, baby, how 'bout he sorts it all out?" Steve smiled.

Natasha blinked, her gaze infinitely exhausted. She nodded slowly, thumb twitching at her side as if she wanted to bring it up to her mouth but didn't have the energy to do so.

"Here we go, baby girl." Clint smiled, pressing the nipple of a pacifier to her lips. She immediately took it, sighing softly.

Next, Clint tucked in BunBun and Maya under the blanket, helping Natty get her arm around them so she could cuddle them close.

Ideally, they would have gotten her changed but taking one look at the girl, Clint knew that wasn't going to happen.

He carefully shook out her Captain America blanket and laid it over the top of the fluffy one, tucking it carefully under her chin, though he left her shoulder free for the time being so Bruce could change the bandage.

The man came back soon with Tony, who carried his build a bear dog Brownie carefully in his hands.

"Brownie's gonna look after you." He said softly, setting the bear at her hip, looking nervous.

Natasha mumbled out something that was probably a thank you, a trembling finger brushing over the ear of the pup. Her big eyes looked up at Tony.

Bruce smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Clint says it hurts, huh, Natty?" He said softly. "Can you try and let me know where it hurts the most?"

Natasha's eyes filled with tears at the question and Bruce immediately understood. _Everything._

"Okay then, sweetheart, open up for me." He hummed, taking the pacifier for a second as he helped the girl swallow the pink pain medicine, chasing it up with a juice box because the taste was extremely unpleasant.

"Good girl." Steve said softly, rubbing at her knee.

"Now, I know you're not going to be hungry but we really have to get something into your tummy or you'll feel even more yucky, okay?" Clint said softly, stroking through her hair.

Natty sniffled, her lower lip wobbling as a few tears spilled over her flushed cheeks.

Bruce kept an even face, even as he pressed the back of his hand to the girl's forehead. Often, she would run a low level fever for a few days until the symptoms eased up but with her shoulder injury, he needed to make sure it wasn't an infection causing it.

She was hot, for sure.

"Clint can you grab me a cloth? Warm water." Bruce looked up at the archer, who bit his lip for a second before nodding and rushing off to do that.

"Okay, baby, Bruce has to look at your shoulder." Steve murmured.

Natty whined softly, shaking her head, fingers clenching into a fist.

"I know. I know, but I'll be super gentle, okay? I just need to make sure it's healing good and change the dressing so it doesn't get infected. It won't take a minute." Bruce told her, running his finger over her cheeks to collect the tears.

Natasha sniffled, looking miserable but she turned her head towards the back of the couch and shuffled until her arm was out of the blankets.

"You're doing so good, Natty. I've never seen such a good girl, have you?" Bruce asked Steve, keeping his voice light.

"Definitely not, this has got to be the good-est girl in the whole universe." Steve hummed, leaning to take one of her hands.

Natasha pulled in a shuddering breath as Bruce slid the shoulder of her shirt down and carefully began unwinding the bandage. As they got to the main part of it, he had a little trouble getting the bandage off her shoulder since it was sticking with dry blood.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, not long now." He soothed as Natasha whimpered and shuffled.

He eventually got the thing away from her shoulder, carefully examining the wound.

It wasn't infected, so that was definitely a bonus. An infection on top of everything else would have been bad news.

As quickly as he could, Bruce cleaned up the wound, sprayed it and re-wrapped it in a clean bandage.

Natasha looked mournfully up at him as he pulled the shoulder of the shirt up and tucked the blankets back around her.

"You did so well, Natty, you're such a brave girl." Steve whispered to her, running his finger over the back of her hand.

Clint came back and once the cloth was placed over the girl's forehead, they were on to trying to get her to eat.

Bruce had bought some peaches and cream baby oatmeal with him, made with protein powder and one of the nutrition milk drinks they kept on hand. Tony, with supervision, had cut up some fresh strawberries and put them on top since they were her favorite.

It was the perfect temperature now so Clint lifted up a small spoon of it to her lips, as Bruce and Tony headed back to the other couches so they didn't overwhelm her.

As suspected, Natty refused at first, turning her head away and clamping her mouth shut.

"I know you don't want to, malyshka, but you'll feel better if you have even a little bit, I promise. And you know daddy doesn't ever break his promises." Clint told her, trying again.

This time she did take the mouthful, if reluctantly and giving the man her sad puppy eyes.

"Good girl, myshka, you're doing so well." Steve smiled reassuringly.

Between the pair of them, they managed to get the girl to eat about half of the oatmeal and all the strawberries on top before she absolutely refused to eat any more.

Knowing how upset her stomach could get, Clint wasn't going to force it in case she really did feel like she might be sick.

"Alright, baby, that's it for now. You're so brave." Clint whispered, leaning in to her, dropping his forehead to hers for a moment before kissing her temple.

"You can go back to sleep now, love, it's okay." Steve said softly as he and Clint made sure she was all tucked up with her stuffies close to her.

With a little grumble and a sigh, Natty closed her eyes, curled up, and went to sleep.


	2. A panicky baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? My readers are the best. Thank you for the sweet comments, they made me so happy. Ily guys ♡

When Natty woke next, it was dark out and the room was shrouded with various fairy lights and a few lamps.

As she looked around the room, she found that someone had laid out the massive mattress across the floor. The one that fit all of them and was usually reserved for special occasions or sometimes if someone reallllly needed a sleepover.

But what was the occasion?

She lifted her aching head from the pillows behind her.

Tony and Bruce were spread out on the mattress, belly down, watching something on the big screen.

Bucky was at her feet, flipping through a book.

She couldn't see either of the other two, anxiety building in her chest as she searched for them.

Bucky felt the movements after a second, putting his book down. "Hey, easy baby, what's wrong?"

"W...where?" She choked out, inhaling raggedly, trying to push herself up. 

That didn't go well at all, her arms were weak and as she tried to push herself up, they collapsed and she fell back against the pillows with a small 'oof'. 

Immediately, she began crying. The feeling of being so weak, of her body betraying her, mixed with her panic for the other two men, all surfaced quickly.

She pulled in one, frantic, shocked breath, and then she was full on sobbing.

Bucky immediately pulled the girl onto his lap, arms around her, rocking her from side to side. "You're okay, you're okay, sweetheart. Your daddies just went to get changed for the night, they'll be back so super soon. Did you hurt your wrist?" He asked as Natasha clutched at her hand, whimpering and shuddering with each gasp.

She was so stupid and weak!!! Such a stupid baby who couldn't even sit up without hurting herself. 

_Stupid baby!_

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She chanted, frantically shaking her head.

"You are absolutely not stupid." Bucky murmured low, smoothing his hand down her hair. "My baby is in no way stupid and she does not deserve her head being mean to her." He said firmly.

Natasha whimpered loudly, crying so desperately now that she couldn't even speak through the tears.

A body sat beside her on the couch and a hand rubbed at her arm. "Okay. Sissy okay." Tony whispered, pressing Brownie into hands. "Pup keep you safe. Safe Natty." He said softly.

Natasha hiccupped, her whole body shaking as she cried.

"Breathe, Talia, try and be as slow as you can." Bucky murmured against her ear, rubbing up and down her back.

Natasha tried to get small, only to end up crying out as pain shot through every part of her body, momentarily stunning her into stopping crying.

She held her breath, a low, keening sound escaping her lips as her hand pressed against the bandages wrapped tight around her ribs.

"Nat, no don't do that, take a breath, baby." Bucky sounded more urgent now as her face got flushed and her chest heaved with the need for air.

"I know it hurts but you can't hold your breath like that." Bucky moved his hand to her front, rubbing his knuckles against her sternum. 

She was getting dizzy.

Tony, more than a little scared as he watched his sister sitting there, not breathing, quickly reached out and jabbed a finger into the side of her neck.

Natasha inhaled desperately as stars filled her vision, whimpering again as each breath sent waves of pain spiking around her body. 

"Nice and slow," Bucky soothed, still rubbing at her sternum, "slow and steady. Bruce is going to get you something for the pain. You're doing so well, just breathe."

Natasha cried softly, energy spent as she just sat there, gulping in air.

"That's my brave girl, you're doing perfectly." Bucky whispered.

Tony, in the meantime, rubbed Brownie's soft ear against her cheek, making it damp with tears. "Soft, sissy. Is soft and nice." He whispered.

The girl very slowly unfurled herself, relieving some of the pressure on her ribs.

She took a bigger gulp of air as she dropped her head backwards against Bucky's shoulder.

"There we go." Bucky slid his hand to her stomach, holding her so she wouldn't topple. "Let's lay back down."

Tony immediately hopped off the couch, patting at her pillows as Bucky carefully got her situated.

Natasha was more just sniffling now, tears tracks on her face.

"Good sissy." Tony murmured, placing her stuffies back around her.

Bruce came back then, with two worried men behind him.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry, we didn't think you'd be awake." Clint said as he crouched at her head, looking guilty. "I'm so sorry for leaving. Everything's okay."

Natasha sniffed, too tired now to wipe at her nose.

Clint grabbed the discarded cloth from earlier, using the still damp material to carefully dab and wipe all evidence of the crying from her sweet little face.

"Watching film, sissy, you wanna?" Tony asked, petting her hair.

Natasha nodded slowly, her eyes heavy lidded and red.

Bruce quickly got the medicine into her, she was so tired she didn't even seem to care about the taste.

Tony pottered back to the mattress, stopping the film they'd been watching and starting it from the beginning.

It was Wreck-it Ralph. Natasha loved it.

Slowly, the family moved from Natasha, either to the other couches or the mattress. Clint swapped out with Bucky at her feet, the archer gently rubbing at her calf.

After a few minutes, the elevator opened and Tony rushed from the mattress to go collect what was inside.

He came back with three big bags full of fast food, dropping them onto the table.

Steve fetched plates for the kids and Bucky went with him to collect drinks.

In no time at all, they were eating.

Natasha was staring unenthusiastically at a piece of cut up veggie pizza and a garlic knot, nauseous with the pain and everything that had happened.

Steve had picked out her favourite plate and sippy cup, full of strawberry milk, hoping it would encourage her.

In the end, the only way they managed to get her to eat was through teamwork. Clint would feed her a piece and then Tony, now sitting at her head, would lift the sippy cup to her lips.

Natasha ate nearly two slice of pizza, a garlic knot and a few bites of a smores cookie before she was very decidedly done with the whole concept of food.

They all returned to the film, praying for an easier time for their firebird from then on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now going to be three chapters instead of two! Yay!


	3. Looking after Nat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops 4 chapters

Over the next few hours, Natasha seemed to relax some.

She was exhausted and could barely muster up the energy to do more than babble pretty incoherently and maybe point at something.

Even moving to get comfortable seemed to be too taxing so they'd taken to carefully lifting her and shifting her until she nodded that the position felt right.

They made sure she stayed hydrated, really not wanting a repeat of last time. 

Natasha hadn't been able to really move that time and even though they'd been helping her with drinks, it hadn't been as much as her sick body needed and when she'd clambered off the sofa to go to the bathroom, she'd gotten so dizzy she'd fallen over and almost split her head open.

So this time they were we well prepared. They had water, juice, Gatorade, milk, popsicles, literally anything that would keep her hydrated.

However, that came with it's own problems of needing the bathroom more.

After the third trip in two hours, Bucky made the decision to try and get the girl changed and into a diaper just in case.

As Bucky, followed by Clint, took the girl to her bedroom, Natty rested her head on the man's shoulder.

As they went to the changing room, Natasha shook her head and whimpered softly.

"What's wrong, love?" Clint asked, taking a hold of her hand.

Natasha mumbled out something incoherent that even he couldn't decipher.

"Do you want to sign it, baby?" He suggested.

Natty tiredly lifted her hand, making a weak gesture of 'gross'.

It took the men a few seconds to understand.

She'd been sleeping for a long time and though she wasn't dirty, she likely didn't feel so clean.

"Okay, how 'bout a quick bath?" Bucky suggested, already heading back from the changing room and to the bathroom instead.

Natty shook her head at the bath.

Clint hummed, "a shower? Super quick."

The girl nodded this time so as Bucky began to run the shower, Clint gathered clothes and towels.

Five minutes later, Natasha was perched on Bucky's knee on the shower stool they had for times like that, or times when Natasha was too injured to stand.

Clint used the detachable shower head, since he had a niggling feeling that using the overhead one would end in tears. 

Natasha leaned fully against Bucky and he got very wet in the process too, but he was more than okay with that.

She didn't want her hair doing so they just made sure she was squeaky clean and smelling of strawberries all over.

She didn't say a word as they worked, just leaned back, thoroughly exhausted.

At one point though, Clint did manage to get a laugh out of the girl by running the water over her foot and tickling her.

Once she was all clean, Clint wrapped her up in a big fluffy towel and carried her to the changing room so Bucky could get himself dry and change too.

Natty consented to the diaper with no fuss whatsoever, either because she was so tired to do so or because she knew an accident might happen.

Either way, they got it done. 

Clint did it as quickly as he could, though he stopped to press kisses to her head or tummy to make her smile as he did so.

Soon enough, she was all wrapped up in a soft purple onesie and fluffy black socks. 

Clint lifted her up, letting her wrap her legs around his waist.

Bucky was waiting in her room for them, smiling and pulling a silly face as he saw them.

Natty smiled, head well and truly tucked up in Clint's neck.

"Let's go get you laying down." Bucky hummed.

"Hair." Natty mumbled, flicking her gaze up to the man.

"You want your hair brushed, princess?" Bucky smiled, already on his way to the dressing table to pick the brush up.

Once he had it, the three of them headed back to the living room, finding that somebody had made hot chocolate and a new film was ready and waiting to play.

They got Natasha settled in Clint's lap, her back against his front.

Looking over at Tony, holding a stuffie tight to his chest and looking worried, Clint smiled. "Hey, baby boy, you wanna come help brush your sister's hair?"

Tony was rushing over in seconds, nodding quickly. "Yeah!"

Natasha smiled at him and Tony beamed right back. "Be super gentle, sissy, 'kay?"

Clint carefully wrapped Tony's fingers around the handle of the brush, putting his own fingers around the boy's. 

They both very gently pulled the brush through Natty's hair, Tony looking very pleased with himself.

Once they were all done, the boy pressed a kiss to Natasha's cheek, petting her hair before moving back to curl up on the mattress with Bruce.

Natasha sleepily lay back against Clint, watching will mild interest as the new film played. The second Wreck-it Ralph film, of course.

Clint helped Natasha sip at her hot chocolate, happy to see that she even ate the marshmallows on top.

As the family settled in for the evening, Natasha looked around at then all, and smiled.


	4. Icky tummies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well whoops guess who still is struggling so her character is too. Sorrrry. I had some icky developments in my flare up and felt sad and gross so I wanted to write it. Also who knows how long this fic is going to be now

Natasha slept throughout the night, still very firmly in the midst of the crash.

When she woke up, she did seem to be feeling better but apparently her body did not agree. 

The girl ate breakfast and it seemed to be going well until she got nauseous about an hour later. They’d managed to get some tea and toast into her, Tony helping to feed her since the one time she’d tried to do it herself, the toast slice had ended up on the floor because her hands were still weak and shaky.

It came on suddenly and they didn't have much warning that the girl was actually going to be sick.

Natty tried her best to clamber off the sofa to rush to the bathroom but her clumsy legs and pain riddled joints meant she didn't make it and ended up on her knees on the floor, throwing up.

Clint and Steve were there right away, holding her hair and rubbing her back as Bruce rushed off to get a bowl and stuff to clean the floor.

Natasha whimpered softly, one arm wrapped around her torso as she retched, utterly miserable and so pale Clint was concerned she would pass out. 

She was shaking all over and as Clint helped brace her, hand on her forehead, he could tell that her fever had come back and was worse than it had been before.

After a few moments it seemed like the attack had passed and Natty was just shuddering and crying softly, chest heaving as she gulped down air, her face twisted in pain and misery.

Steve scooped her right up and got her settled on the couch as Bruce focused on the mess and cleaning it up.

Clint knelt at her head and tenderly wiped at the girl's mouth until all evidence of the attack was gone, helping her sip some water, slowly, in case she would be sick again. It wouldn’t be the first time any of them had been thrown up on but it would make poor Natty embarrassed and even more sad.

The girl looked miserable, looking mournfully up at him with her big sad, doe eyes.

There was every chance she'd thrown up all her pain meds but it was too soon to give her more in case they were still in her system so despite how horrible it was to see the return of the pain, Clint wasn’t going to risk it.

Bruce was able to give her some nausea meds though, praying they would work because being sick wasn't a good time for anyone but being sick whilst dropped was plain awful. And then being sick during the crash and whilst dropped was well…hell, pretty much.

However, their hopes were dashed multiple times throughout the day.

They would get Natasha to slowly work her way through a few bites of food and then a little while later, she would get pale and clutch her stomach and would be sick again.

It seemed to get more violent each time and they couldn't even get her to have a nap she felt so awful.

As it reached the early evening, Natasha hadn't been able to keep even water down and the group was decidedly growing worried.

The girl was very quickly getting dehydrated and her metabolism was so high that her not being able to eat anything was worrying. She couldn’t even have a few licks of a grape popsicle without getting paler and holding her stomach.

After the fourth unsuccessful try to get her to keep even water down, Bruce made the decision to give her an IV.

It was the only way she wouldn't get even more sick and need even more treatment, plus her pain was getting worse because they couldn't give her meds long enough for them to work and she was constantly twisting to try and alleviate the joint pain and the stabs of agony that riddled her body.

Clint had Natasha curled up on his lap, trembling weakly, a cloth resting over her forehead that Tony obediently continually went and refreshed for his sissy.

She didn't even flinch as Bruce carefully slid the needle into her arm, tired eyes watching with disinterest as their resident doctor hooked up the bag of medicine and hung it carefully over the nearby lamp.

Clint was more worried about the non-reaction, it told them how awful she really felt without her having to say anything. Not that she could speak, they’d long passed the girl’s ability to do that.

Bruce set everything up quickly, giving her a solution to stave off dehydration and both pain and nausea meds. 

They got the girl comfortable resting in Clint's arms, shivering under her blanket despite the fever burning through her.

Bucky had been very close to just saying fuck it and taking the girl into Shield medical but they would see if Bruce's solution worked first. They didn't want to go through the trauma of that if they could help it.

Everyone was worried, Tony a constant force trying to do everything in his power to help. He'd even brought out a whole barrage of stuffies to protect her.

Eventually Natty was able to drop off, sleeping restlessly. She'd slept an awful lot but it was clear it hadn't been enough by any means. It never was.

Her body had all but shut down, very firmly saying that it had had enough and needed to recuperate.

They all cancelled various plans for the next few days, all determined to stay and be around and help the girl feel as best as she possibly could.

Clint could see the crash lasting a while but hopefully as the days past it would get easier.

Natasha hadn't come up in age even once, not like Tony, and that too was telling of how utterly exhausted she was.

As the girl tossed and turned in the archer's grip, the others tried to focus on the TV or books they were only half reading but it was hard.

But still, it was never going to be as hard as what Natasha had to go through with the crashes.

Even when awake, she was still struggling to move and the pain in her body was overwhelming to the point of her only being able to cry through it.

She was dizzy even when lying down and felt so sick she was scared to open her mouth to even and try and speak for fear of being ill.

It was awful to watch but it was a task they all took in their stride.

Natasha was one of them, part of them, and they would never let her suffer through it alone.


	5. Scary needles and the best brother ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. Shorter chapter this time but still good. Some Clint and Natty goodness.
> 
> Another fun thing that happens is me literally forgetting and not remembering things that happened recently. It's scary for anyone especially someone dropped. Poor Natty. I'm sorry.

When Natasha opened her eyes, she felt strange.

Her mouth was dry and icky but her tummy felt better than it had all day.

Her throat didn't burn quite as much so maybe that meant she'd stopped being sick?

She hoped so. It was horrible and made her sad and she hated hated hated feeling so out of control.

She still hurt an awful lot but it was more of a background pain than it had been before. 

As she blinked her sleepy eyes open fully, a hand dropped to her cheek to brush over her skin. "Hi sissy." Clint whispered.

It was dark behind him so it must have been night time. 

The girl had her legs hooked over Clint's lap and she flushed. He must have been very uncomfortable with her laying all over him.

She went to lift her legs but calloused fingers on her ankle slowed her movements.

"'S okay. I like it." Clint said firmly. "I wanna help."

Struggling to lift her head up, Natty quickly glanced around the room. 

Everybody else was asleep, curled up and spread about on their special mattress or on one of the other couches.

There was a little light coming in through the curtains shrouding the windows though, so that meant it was probably getting close to morning.

Natty didn't have any idea how long she'd slept, just that she still felt bone tired and like it hadn't been enough.

Noticing that BunBun had somehow ended up on the floor, Natty whined softly and rolled over to try and grab her.

She was startled into stopping when something tugged at her arm and pain stabbed into the crook of her elbow.

"Wait, be careful!" Clint breathed, grabbing her hand and returning it to her side. He twisted her arm under one of the night lights, sighing softly. "The needle's still in. That's good." He said quietly.

Natasha blinked at the boy, confused and also just really wanting her stuffie on the floor. What if BunBun was hurt? It was a big fall for such a little bunny. Natty would feel soooooo bad if she was hurt.

Not even realizing her lower lip was wobbling with the tell tale sign she was about to cry, she was immediately halted by a soft ear against her cheek.

Clint pressed BunBun to her chest, pressing the little pink nose to her cheek and making the bunny kiss Natasha's face all over.

Soon the girl was giggling softly, arms curling around the stuffie. She rested her cheek against the fur and flicked her gaze from Clint to the crook of her arm, eyes questioning.

She felt kinda super small and needles were scary to anybody small, she wasn't being dumb!

Tony had cried when he'd had blood taken and he hadn't even been as small as she was so it was okay. 

But it was scary and she tried to scan her memories to figure out when it had happened but there was nothing but static and the complete absence of that memory.

Frowning, Natty closed her eyes to try and focus super duper hard on the needle and the medicine but she still came up blank.

Not again.

Whimpering, Natty rubbed a balled up fist over her eyes, mournfully looking over at her brother and praying he would understand.

Clint leaned over, thumb rubbing under her eyes to collect a fallen tear. "Hey, what's wrong, little red?" He whispered, following her once again flickering gaze.

"Oh, the needle huh? Yeah, I know it's real scary and icky but it's gonna make you feel better. See, you haven't been sick again 'cause you're getting lots of nut...nutri...good stuff." Clint smiled, stroking his fingers through the girl's hair.

But Natasha's eyes were still scared and she couldn't find her voice to explain that she didn't remember it, she didn't remember it at all, it was all just gone.

She wasn't sure she even had a voice anymore. What if whilst she was asleep Ursula had come and taken her voice just like Ariel's?! What if she could never speak again? 

"Hey, hey, sissy, look at me." Clint said firmly, tilting her chin up to his level. "You don't gotta be afraid. You're gonna be okay real soon. I can see your lips movin' and I knows it's probably scary that you can't talk huh? But just think about it like when you're a baby. You can't took then and everythin' is super duper fine, okay? You'll be able to talk soon. But we can sign in the meantime if you wanna?"

Natasha sniffled, chest burning with how just plain grateful she was for Clint. For him understanding her even when she couldn't explain. For staying awake just cause she was awake. For being so kind and gentle.

Natty slowly nodded her head. She couldn't talk and that was okay. 

And she thought maybe she would be a baby soon anyways, her head was even fuzzier than before.

Natasha flexed her fingers a few times and even though they were shaking, she managed to sign roughly. 

Her and Clint had had a lot of practise with signing so Clint knew right away what his sister meant, even if it was all shaky.

"Story? You got it." Clint beamed. "Here, you get all cozy first." He murmured, securing Maya and Bun bun in her arms nearest the back if the couch so they wouldn't fall off. He tucked the blanket under her chin, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. 

He carefully fed her some water and Natty smacked her lips together. Yay, no dry mouth! Clint was so clever!

Clint winked and slid a pacifier into her waiting mouth before settling back, hand on her leg as he pulled a story from memory.

"Okie dokie, Natty. Once upon a time..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you liked it. Thank you for reading!


	6. Accidents and sunrises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Honestly I have no idea how long this fic is going to be and i have no idea if y'all are going to get bored if I drag the crash out so let me know!
> 
> I'm still in the midst of like...months and months of relapse so I really like writing this, especially when I feel rough, but of course if there's any chance you guys will get bored I'll end the fic whilst I'm ahead :)

When Bucky woke up, it was to Clint tapping at his face.

Instantly alert, the man sat upright, carefully pulling Steve's arm from his waist.

"Hey bud, is everything okay?" He asked softly, already looking around to see if anything was amiss.

He could hear the sounds of sniffling from behind the boy.

"Natty had a little nightmare an' she had an accident." Clint whispered, looking upset. "I was gonna get her changed but I can't carry the medicine and her 'cause it might hurt her arm or somethin'." 

"You did the right thing waking me up, baby." Bucky said softly, gently ruffling the boy's hair. "Come on, let's get sissy all cleaned up." He smiled.

Once they'd both clambered to their feet and gotten back to the couch, Bucky could see that Natty's cheeks were streaked with tears and her thumb was firmly in her mouth.

Just looking at his little girl's face, Bucky could tell she was younger than before they'd gone to sleep. 

"Hey baby, don't you worry, we're gonna get you all comfy again." Bucky murmured as he carefully scooped the girl up.

Clint grabbed the medicine bag and held it gently in his hands so it wouldn't tug on the girl's arm.

They very carefully carried the girl through to the changing room, Bucky cooing softly to Natty the whole time since she still looked teary eyed and upset.

"It's okay, sissy. Accidents happen all the time." Clint said softly as Bucky laid her down on the changing table.

Natty looked up at her brother, her eyes big and sad as her lower lip trembled.

"Oh baby, don't cry, not about this." Bucky murmured, pressing kisses to her face. He could taste the salt on his lip. "It's completely okay. Accidents happen, you brother is right." He said warmly. "Now let's get you all comfy and we can pick out an outfit."

Natasha absently kicked her legs a little as Bucky cleaned, powdered and pulled a new diaper up over the girl's hips. 

"I see what's happening," Bucky hummed, fingers skirting along her belly. "Somebody is a squirmy girl today, huh? I know you're probably sick of being laid up, yeah? But it's okay, it's what our bodies need to heal up and feel better."

Clint nodded firmly, still holding the bag of medicine like it was a special treasure. "'Cause we don't want a poorly baby. But, when you feel better we can go to the games room, huh? Play lots and lots and lots." Even Natty couldn't help but light up at that. They could play so much! 

Once the diaper was settled, Bucky lifted her up and the triad headed to the bedroom.

With Natty on his hip and Clint close by, they helped the girl pick out jammies. 

She was shivering a little, she was often very very sensitive to temperatures when she was going through a rough patch. 

They settled on a onesie, but a full length soft one. It was a bright purple with black stripes and Clint always said it made her look like a Hawkeye tiger.

The onesie's that covered her feet were a no no, Natty hated them, so they instead gave her some black fluffy socks.

Once she was all dressed and cosy, they went back to the living room, where everyone but Tony was now awake and Steve was nowhere to be seen.

The sun shone into the room and they looked out at a beautiful sunrise. 

Instead of getting Natty settled on the couch right away, they walked over to the windows. They were floor to ceiling and stretched all the way around the room.

As they got closer to the glass, Natty clumsily pressed her hand up to the window, her lips parted as her eyes took in the sight.

"Isn't it pretty, sissy?" Clint said softly, his fingers stroking through the girl's somehow tangled again hair.

Natasha nodded but didn't say anything but Bucky knew she was just too young, plus she still wasn't feeling good so he wasn't worried about her lack of voice.

After almost ten minutes of watching the pretty colours across the sky, Nat was tucked back up under the blankets on the couch.

By the time she was all comfy, the smells of food being cooked wafted through the room.

Natty's tummy grumbled at the smell, which Bucky hoped was a good sign. She hadn't been hungry the entire time and had only eaten because she knew she had to.

"Doesn't that smell good, Natty? I reckon daddy's making eggs." Clint grinned from his position tucked up against the back of the couch with his sister in his lap.

Natasha hummed noncommittally and patted her tummy, smiling up at him.

Steve had indeed been cooking eggs. But not just that. 

He'd gone all out and made a whole bunch of stuff. Bucky had no idea how he'd gotten it all done so quickly. Maybe they'd spent longer changing Natty and looking outside than they'd thought.

As Bruce roused a sleepy Tony and took him off for a quick change, Steve began to bring the food out.

He'd made both runny eggs and scrambled, meat and a veggie alternative bacon, toast with little pots of jelly and peanut butter, cut up fruit and yoghurt and had poured orange juice into various cups or sippy bottles.

It all looked amazing and Bucky smiled at Steve in thanks. 

Steve had even made the kids plates up for them- two runny egg eyes, a bacon mouth, and toast soldiers for eyebrows.

Natty seemed entranced as Clint took her plate and balanced it on her lap, his on the arm of the couch.

Clint grumbled about being too old for faces in his food but Bucky knew he was just spitting, because he was smiling dopily at the plate and his own stomach was growling.

Soon enough, they were all eating comfortably. Steve and Clint helped feed Natty and Bruce and Bucky helped feed Tony, who still managed to get egg absolutely everywhere.

It was a beautiful morning with their beautiful family and looking at Natty as she delightedly accepted the toast solider dipped in egg, Steve hoped they were through the worst of the crash.

But who knew, relapses came on very quickly and couldn't be predicted.

He knew that, but still he hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!


	7. Gentle playing and things to look forward to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A more fluffy chapter this time. Really not sure how long this fic is going to be but it probably won't be much longer because I'd like to explore chronic illness in another instalment. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter it was a really sweet one to write. 
> 
> Also apologises for mistakes or if anything sounds weird, I just wrote this whilst slightly high off pain meds cause yay chronic pain. Can somebody please cuddle me and feed me and take me to the zoo? No? Nobody?😭
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Malyshka - baby in Russian

The morning went by in a relaxed manner, even though all four kids were dropped.

Tony was noticeably more chill than he usually was and Bucky was warmed to realize it was because he didn't want his sissy to get a headache if he was too loud.

He and Bruce entertained themselves with a kids science kit and various other toys, spread out across the floor.

Natasha watched them intently, very much wanting to join in but not feeling well enough to.

After a little bit, Tony noticed that his sister was watching them. He smiled and clambered up to his feet, grabbing a few items from the floor.

He tottered over to the girl, curled up on the couch getting hugs from Clint. Even small, Tony knew Natasha couldn't join him in the floor to play because of how much she hurt, cause the hard floor would make her body all ouchie. 

Her handed her a little red car, since him and Bruce were currently racing them around Clint's car track he'd gotten for Christmas. 

Tony grinned, making a vroom vroom noise as he made his own little yellow car drive along Natasha's arm. "Here sissy, your turn!" He held out his arm, sitting close so she didn't have to strain to reach him.

With a smile on her face, Natty drove the red car from Tony's shoulder all the way to his fingers. She giggled as Tony made the noises for her car too.

"Vroom!" The girl exclaimed as the car backed up and drove down Tony's other arm.

"Yeah, Natty! You sound just like it." Tony grinned, as his sister beamed happily at him.

They played like that for a while until Natasha handed him the red car back, patting his hand in her little way of saying thank you.

Tony, smiling proudly, pressed a kiss to the girl's unruly hair. "Fanks for playin' with me, Natty." 

As he moved back to the floor with Bruce, Natasha sighed softly and tucked her head back into Clint's neck. Her stomach felt all warm and fuzzy. She had the best family ever.

Bucky and Steve watched the whole interaction with soft eyes. How did had they managed to be able to look after the sweetest fucking kids in the whole world?

"Are you feeling any better, little red?" Bucky smiled over at the girl from the other couch.

Natasha blinked tiredly and nodded her head. "Little." She whispered.

It had been encouraging to see her engaging in play time, even if she wasn't up for much of it or leaving the couch to do so. She hadn't even been able to move the previous day so it definitely felt like things were moving forward.

"It's okay if you need to rest now, baby, you did a lot of playing and even the very best race car drivers need naps." Steve hummed. 

Natty made a noncommittal sound, rubbing a hand over her eyes. It took her a good moment to find the right words but even then she wasn't sure they even made sense. "Jus' got up."

Clint snuggled the girl closer, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter how long you've been up, sissy, if you're sleepy, you're sleepy."

"Your brother's right, malyshka, there's no point fighting it, okay? If you're sleepy, it's your body telling you it needs it." Bucky said to her, making sure his smile was encouraging. 

"Been sleep lots." Natasha protested, looking a little upset.

They all knew how much Natasha hated the crashes and how much she hated sleeping so much. It made her feel useless and lazy, like she'd wasted all her time. She usually fought so hard during those times to not give into her body and nap but sooner or later, she wouldn't be able to keep herself awake. 

The more she fought being tired, the more emotional she got and the more the pain seemed to feel ten times worse.

Their girl was notoriously stubborn and it seemed like this was one of the times she would not nap easily.

"You've been sleeping as much as your body needs, baby, it's not a lot, just the right amount you need to feel better." Steve said softly.

"You don't have to nap, Natty." Clint whispered, stroking through her red curls. "Maybe you can just close your eyes for a little bit?"

Natasha looked interested in the idea for about five seconds before pursing her lips and shaking her head. 

Knowing that Natasha was likely to get upset if they pushed it, the others didn't mention it again. They knew their family inside and out and they knew when to push, when to gently suggest, and when to drop it.

Natasha never really had tantrums, never threw things or shouted at them, but she could get pretty grumpy and frustrated at times.

Bucky knew just from the tension in her shoulders that the best course to take was to leave it and try to bring it up a little later.

Changing the subject, Bucky lowered his voice to make what he was going to say sound special and secretive. "How about we book a trip to the zoo next week, huh?"

Natasha had received a special present on her last birthday. Nick, Phil and Melinda had found out what Natasha's favourite zoo animal was and had booked an experience for her to go and feed them and even go in the enclosure with them.

Suddenly all thoughts of naps were gone and Natasha was nodding excitedly. "Pandas?!"

"Oh that's right," Steve hummed, "a certain little girl gets to go and meet the red pandas, how could I forget that? What do you think, baby, would you like that?"

Natty nodded and clapped her hands together. "Pandas!" 

"Then it's settled, we'll go to the zoo next week, yeah?" The blonde man grinned.

Natasha exhaled, nodding so hard it looked like her head would fall right off.

"Pandas." She sighed happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably only another chapter or so in this instalment. Leave a comment and tell me if you liked it. Thanks for reading! Your comments are always the sweetest things💛


	8. Worried family and more unfun things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I guess I was wrong this isn't going to be the last chapter. I feel really bad so now Natty is too, sorry not sorry😬 I hope you enjoy. Kinda out of it on pain meds so hope this makes sense and has no mistakes but no promises. Thank you for all the lovely comments they make me so happy. 
> 
> Whoops sorry Nat🙃

Of course, Natasha did inevitably fall asleep. She fought it for a while, constantly rubbing her eyes and squishing herself into an uncomfortable position to try and stay awake.

But it was never Natty who got to decide when to sleep in the midst of the crash, her body always took control of that, no matter how much she didn't want it.

They knew it was coming when she began to blink whenever any one said something as she got confused and found it hard to understand. Then her voice was slow and slurred whenever she did manage to respond to anything. Then her head kept dropping down to her chest or back against Clint's shoulder and then lastly, she fell asleep mid eye rub, after fighting it for nearly an hour.

An hour was a long time for Natty so they knew how much she didn't want to sleep.

But if she hadn't given in, she would have ended up feeling sick and probably being sick, as well as being in more pain with even gentle touches. Or she would have gotten very upset and hard to calm down, maybe would even have another panic attack.

So even though she didn't want it, she clearly needed it, which meant maybe they weren't quite as close to the end as they'd all hoped.

It was likely that even the small things she'd done like watching outside and playing with the cars had pushed the whole thing back a little. But they never knew when those kind of things would set her back, sometimes they didn't, so they couldn't just make her sit in one spot until the whole thing ended. It wasn't fair on her and she loved interacting so much.

Clint extra gently stroked over her hair as he carefully slid the girl into a more comfortable position.

Looking up to anyone around for help, Tony ran to his aid and very softly pulled the blanket up over the girl and Clint so they wouldn't get cold.

Stepping back, Tony fiddled with his hands, shuffling on the spot. "Is sissy gonna be okay?" He whispered as he crept over to Steve and Bucky and clambered up onto the sofa in between them.

Steve wrapped an arm around the boy and pressed a kiss to his temple as Bucky slid Tony's legs over his lap.

"Natty's gonna be fine, little man." Bucky promised, squeezing his knee. "It's just sometimes all this excitement can make her very tired. Like when we put you down for a nap after the park or after playing. Natty's just extra sensitive to it all and sometimes even a little can be too much."

"But," Steve murmured, "sissy will be feeling better any time now, you'll see. And then you'll both be back to trying to steal cookies, hmm?"

Tony flushed a little and nodded his head, though he grumbled under his breath that they were his cookies anyways cause he'd bought them with his pocket money and he should be able to have them anytime he wanted.

Bucky chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "You're so silly, baby."

Tony pouted, arms crossed over his chest. "Am not."

"Am too." Steve hummed, pulling Tony to his chest. "We're all silly."

"That's right, T, your daddy is the silliest of all." Bucky grinned.

Steve pulled a funny face and stuck his tongue out at Bucky before leaning over for a kiss.

"Daddy's silly!" Tony grinned.

"Daddy's very silly." Steve conceded, stroking the boy's back. "We're a silly bunch."

...

Natasha slept for a few hours, completely knocked out.

Usually she was a very very light sleeper and even the softest movements or touches would have her awake in less than a second but they knew when she was exhausted because that didn't happen.

She didn't wake when Clint had to move her to go to the bathroom or when the TV got accidentally turned up to the highest volume or even when Tony knocked over Bucky's glass of water and it smashed.

It actually worried them a little bit because it was clear that Natasha wasn't doing well at all even though it had been days since it had started.

She'd probably had a harder time on the mission's than she let on and Steve was tempted to call Phil for more information.

It seemed like even though Natasha had obviously been ill in front of them, without even knowing it, she hadn't let on how bad it was.

That was fairly normal because most times the girl didn't even realize herself how bad she felt so of course she wouldn't be able to project her feelings very well.

It all came to a head when Natasha woke up.

She rubbed blearily at her eyes, unable to speak as she tried to force both her body and mind to wake up.

With a small sniffle and a little shuffle, Natty swung her legs off the couch so she could stand.

She probably needed the bathroom, since she'd been having a lot of fluids so Bucky made to stand up to help her when quite suddenly, Natty keeled over.

She hadn't even walked a full step before the colour drained out of her face. She pulled in a shaky breath and blinked rapidly before falling.

She collapsed onto her hands and knees, shuddering desperately. 

Bucky was already right beside her, heart in his throat as he gathered the girl up.

He laid her quickly on her side on the carpet, cradling her head in the palm of one of his hands.

She wasn't quite passed out but her eyelids fluttered weakly as she fought to remain conscious, little gasps escaping her lips.

Very quickly the family was gathered around her. Tony was crying, clutching Bruce's hand and looking absolutely terrified.

Clint whimpered softly, hand on Natasha's cheek, his eyes were glazed and it was clear the panic was forcing him out of the drop.

"Nat?" He whispered, thumb running over her pale cheek.

The girl's eyes had shut and no one was quite sure if she was unconscious or had closed her eyes to try and fight it.

"Sweetheart, hey, look at me-" Bucky whispered, looking over his shoulder at Bruce.

Bruce was the designated doctor but he had a terrified toddler on his hands.

"Steve, if you could grab the green med bag from the lab." Bruce instructed, holding Tony tightly.

The blonde swallowed and nodded, standing to fetch the bag even though it hurt him to leave his girl's side for even a second.

Bucky gently pressed his fingers to Natasha's neck. Her pulse was strong but fast, way faster than it should have been considering she'd just been asleep.

She was shaking hard and Bucky knew something was wrong with her temperature because despite the shaking and paleness, her skin was hot to the touch.

She wasn't dehydrated this time, not like the last time she'd passed out mid crash, so Bucky was finding it hard to stay calm.

A few moments later and Clint had managed to rouse Natasha at least a little and even though her eyes had yet to open, she was moving and making soft noises under her breath. 

"Okay, sweetheart, stay nice and still, we'll get you up of this icky floor real soon." Clint murmured, stroking over her hair. "Just breathe, darling, you're okay." 

Natasha let out a whimper as she struggled to try and lift her head. It was obvious she had no strength left whatsoever as she couldn't hold her head up for any time at all.

"We're gonna get you onto the couch now, nice and slow." Clint told her, his voice soft and soothing. He looked up at Bucky who nodded and the pair gently picked Natasha up and got her laying down on the couch, her head on the armrest. 

She was still shaking and struggling to open her eyes.

Tony was glued to the spot, his eyes wide and terrified. Bruce held him tucked into his side, murming soft reassurances. The boy had had an accident but understandably refused to move until he saw his sissy was okay. 

Once Steve came back with the med kit, Bruce instructed them what to set up. Clint took the lead, since he was actually almost a pro at all, he'd done it so much in the field. 

Bruce had a fairly certain idea of what had just happened but it was still important they checked out all her vitals just in case.

Tony still refused to move even though seeing the wires and monitors was very scary. 

Clint attached little leads onto Natasha's skin, placed a cuff around her arm and a little device onto her finger. The IV had been pulled out so after wiping the blood and placing a bandaid over the little hole, he started a fresh IV in Natasha's other arm.

After Bruce had told Bucky what to do, the man pricked one of Natasha's fingers with a little needle and placed the drop of blood onto a strip that went into a small machine.

Once everything was in place, Bruce checked the numbers on the machines and came to a solid conclusion that was exactly what he'd thought it would be.

Her heart rate was high and her oxygen a little low. Her temperature was high and both her blood pressure and blood sugar was low.

She definitely hadn't realized how stressed out her body was.

Luckily, Bruce knew a number of things that would help.

Bucky went to collect juice, salty crackers and sugary snacks, Steve went to get a cold wet cloth and an ice pack. 

To help with her heart rate and oxygen, Clint settled an oxygen tube under her nose to help her body deal with the stress of the illness without using up all her energy for the simple task of breathing.

In just a few minutes, some of the numbers began to even out and Bruce hoped with the right snacks, the others would too. 

An ice pack was placed in a towel and pressed to the girl's side and the cloth laid over her forehead. 

As Bucky returned with the snacks, Natty had finally worked up enough energy to open her eyes. The green orbs were glazed and blood shot but she could focus on them, at least.

Wanting to be thorough, Bruce decided to get Jarvis to scan the girl entirely, just to make doubly sure that nothing else was going on.

He thought that maybe she was coming down with the flu and her already weakened body just hadn't had the power to deal with that on it's own.

But that was okay, they could help her with that and they would do because she wasn't alone in any of it.

She never would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I know its been a while since I posted a chapter but that's what happens with this kinda illness, it's chronic so I have no idea when bad days are going to come. Thanks for sticking with me through absences and probably mistake riddled work. Comment if you liked it maybe, thank you!


	9. Family forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda pretty sure I dragged this out too much and no one is really waiting for a chapter but here's one anyway haha :)

Natasha slept for a long time, about three days straight with only tiny periods of wakefulness interspersed throughout.

Bruce kept up with the meds even though she was out, pushing fluids until her numbers were better and after still. The girl’s fever had broken not long ago, but the man was still wary of using too many blankets or heavy clothing. It would probably not take very much for the fever to come back, her immune system was low enough that it could become a problem.

When Natty was awake, she wasn’t exactly coherent or up to much at all. If they were lucky, they could get her to drink some water and maybe sip at some soup, but it was nowhere near enough for her body, so until she woke properly, the IV had to stay.

Clint and Tony had both cycled through ages a number of times, Clint even dropping a few years below his normal ages with the stress and panic after Natasha had collapsed. Bruce was able to be more steady with his age, something he attributed to calming himself to contain the Hulk those first few awful years. Either that, or his mind knew he had to look after Natasha and to do that, he couldn’t be too young or they would have to call Shield in to help instead. 

And whilst Natasha loved her friends and family at Shield, they wouldn’t be the ones to come, it would be medics that didn’t know the girl like they did, and that would be no good for anyone. No, it was best he stay in charge of her care.

Besides, whether Tony was dropped or not, he was almost a constant at Bruce’s side. Bruce thought that maybe seeing Natasha so sick was reminding him of his own sickness because of the reactor and the shrapnel. Plus, it wasn’t nice to see someone they loved in pain, and little Tony was a bundle of anxiety and that anxiety had probably made big Tony’s even worse. Emotion transference between ages was very common when either panicked, or if rapidly cycling through ages.

Clint wasn’t fairing any better, except he didn’t have his partner to help him, because she was passed out most of the time. Obviously, the whole rest of the family was looking after him and helping him through the anxiety and worry, but sometimes they just needed their other half.

That was why, when Natasha opened her eyes and lifted her head for the first time unaided in days, Clint was rushing from the floor where he’d been trying to colour a picture for his sister, stopping just short of clambering onto her. “Hi.” He whispered, as the rest of the family waited with somewhat baited breath to see how Natasha would respond, if she could at all.

Swallowing, Natty’s gaze darted around the room quickly, as she tried to acclimatise to her surroundings and where she was before speaking. After a few moments, she seemed to understand, moving her still a little bloodshot eyes to Clint. 

Her voice was rough and hoarse from three days of disuse, but also undeniably beautiful. It told them that not only was she more awake this time, she was feeling at least a little better, or she wouldn’t have been speaking at all.

“Hi.” She whispered back, teeth biting into her lower lip. She looked nervous and unsettled, fiddling with the edge of the blanket laid over her. “I…what?” 

Clint, a little teary eyed, sniffled and looked over at Bucky for help. 

The man slowly walked over, crouching beside Natasha’s head. “You’ve been asleep for a little while, love, you weren’t feeling good, do you remember?” He asked softly.

Natty’s eyebrows furrowed and the twisting of the blanket got more insistent. “I don’t…” She said weakly, lip wobbling just a little.

“That’s okay, baby, you don’t need to hurt your head by trying to think. You’re okay.” Bucky reassured her, thumb running over her cheek before tucking red hair behind her ear. 

Clint followed the movement of the man’s hand, his hands clutching his knees as he sat, half crouched in front of the couch.

Natasha frowned again as she zeroed in on the boy, eyes flitting around to take in everything she possibly could. “Clint?” She whispered after a second, looking more nervous than she had before. He was acting weird and strange and it made her stomach hurt just looking at his features. “Okay?”

Clint almost choked on a sob, “am I okay?” he questioned weakly, shaking his head. “Course ‘m okay, you’re the one who’s been sick.” He sniffled, dragging his sleeve over his face.

“Not okay.” Natasha mumbled, never once looking away from Clint.

Clint immediately got paler, “you don’t feel okay?” He was looking over at Bruce a millisecond later.

A soft, frustrated sigh left the girl’s lips as she tried to sort through her words so she could say what she wanted to say. “You. Not okay. Sad.”

“I’m not…” Clint stammered, scrubbing at his eyes harder this time, as if that would immediately send the foreboding tears back into his eyes and not out of them. “I’m not sad.” He whispered, gritting his teeth. “’M not.”

“Scared.” Natasha replied, looking very sad herself. “Sorry.” She sniffled, lip wobbling more insistently now.

“No, you don’t gotta be sorry.” Clint inhaled shakily. “’S not your fault ‘m scared, Nat, ‘s never your fault. Please don’t cry, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

But by then, Natasha was already crying softly and a second after seeing her tears, Clint was too.

Bucky rubbed a hand up the boy’s back, the other stroking over Natty’s hair. He leaned close to Clint, “give her a hug, baby, you won’t hurt her.”

Clint looked disbelieving, which was understandable considering the pain Natasha had been in not long ago, but Bucky wouldn’t lie to him so he wiped his face and looked down at his sister. “Hug now?” He held his breath, waiting for a no or more cries. Instead, Natasha gulped down air, nodding so rapidly it looked like her head might fall off.

Instantly, Clint was leaning over her, wrapping his arms around the girl, his face buried in her hair as hers hid against his shoulder. 

“Please don’t be sad that I was scared.” Clint whispered, voice soft and shaky. “It wasn’t your fault at all, not ever.”

Natasha hiccupped weakly, not so weak fingers clutching at his shirt as she tried to stop the tears. She didn’t even know why she was crying, she was just struggling to get it to stop.

“It’s okay.” Clint said firmly, rocking them from side to side. “It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re okay. I promise.”

Clint never broke his promises so Natasha closed her eyes as her tears slowly began to dry up.

Okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone read that, hi, thanks! There's one last chapter to come <3


	10. Good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! It's finally here; the end! Just a short little epilogue but I hope you enjoy it :) I'll be going into more chronic illness stuff in other fics so stay tuned. Ily guys, thank you for reading and I hope you're all dealing with this virus hell as well as is possible <3

As the next few days passed, things continued to get better and better. The crash had been long and awful but it seemed to finally be coming to an end.

It had taken a little bit of time for Natasha to gain some strength and she tired easily after playing but now, three days after waking properly, she was thoroughly enjoying time with her siblings.

Bruce had let himself drop completely once Natasha was able to move around and interact, and was spread across the floor with his science kit as he and Tony experimented.

The four of them had played for a while in the play room, with all the fun soft things to clamber up and climb and bounce on and were now doing more chill activities as the afternoon drew to a close.

Natasha was enjoying her colouring book, one of her favourite chill activities, and Clint was more watching her than playing with his cars. 

Even though the girl was engrossed in her work, Clint couldn't help but stare adoringly at his sister. His eyes were soft and his smile softer. It was as if he couldn't bear to be too far away from her. He kept stroking her hair or offering her a snack or making sure she had juice left.

Bucky and Steve had spent a fair amount of time playing with the kids but were now across one of the couches doing their own things. Like Clint, they couldn’t quite manage to resist the urge to look up and check on Natasha and make sure she wasn’t pushing herself too much.

As Steve looked up from his sketchbook, he was just in time to catch Clint gently petting Natasha’s hair as she took a break from her colouring. She was curled on her side on the blanket they’d laid out to make it softer than just the carpet, head in Clint’s lap as the archer ever so softly stroked his fingers over her hair.

Steve nudged Bucky, who’s answering smile made the blonde’s stomach flip.

“Adorable, huh?” Bucky sighed softly, gently catching and squeezing Steve’s hand as the pair watched the kids.

“You think Nat’s feelin’ better?” Steve murmured, knowing Bucky’s astute hearing would mean he would hear and none of the kids would.

“At least a bit, right? I mean she seems tired but tired’s better than a few days ago.” Bucky said softly. “I think it looks as good as we could expect.”

“Good.” Steve breathed, nodding his head a little. “That’s good.” His voice trembled just slightly but it was enough that the other man looked over.

“Stevie, you alright?” Bucky hummed, thumb rubbing over the back of his hand.

“Yeah.” Steve exhaled and then winced and shrugged. “I think so. I just…for a moment there I thought…”

“That she wouldn’t get better?” Bucky supplied, smile encouraging. “I get it, it crossed my mind too. But Steve, she’s gonna be okay. She’s feelin’ better and will carry on getting more strength. This is good, alright?”

A weak smile on his face, Steve nodded, dropping his head to rest against Bucky’s shoulder as both their gazes focused back on the rest of their family. 

It was good.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make for a happy spoonie <3


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